Common rail station solution expected this month

MANILA, Philippines - A solution to the impasse on the proposed common station linking the three railways in Metro Manila may be seen within the month, the Department of Transportation said.

“I have talked to them (private sector parties). They have come to an agreement. Maybe before the end of the month, we will sign a memorandum of agreement (on the common station),” Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade said during a forum organized by Colliers International yesterday.

He said the common station which would link the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) to Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) as well as MRT-7 would be located between the SM North EDSA and Trinoma malls in Quezon City.

LRT-1 runs from Roosevelt station in Quezon City up to Baclaran station in Pasay City, while MRT-3 spans North Avenue station in Quezon City until Taft Avenue station in Pasay City.

The MRT-7 currently under construction, would cover North Avenue in Quezon City until San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan.

Earlier, Tugade said he is hopeful a solution to the impasse would be given within the first 100 days of the new administration.

A common station connecting the railways would be beneficial to commuters transferring from one railway to the next.

The row started in 2014 as the Department of Transportation and Communications decided to have the common station near Ayala Group’s Trinoma mall instead of SM North EDSA mall citing savings in construction cost as well as convenience of passengers.

This, even as the LRT Authority and SM entered into an agreement to put up a common station for the railways near the SM North EDSA mall in 2009.

To prevent the DOTC from transferring the LRT-MRT common station near the Trinoma, SM sought and obtained a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court.

As a compromise, the DOTC proposed to have two common stations with one located near SM North EDSA mall and the other closer to the Trinoma mall, to link LRT-1, MRT-3 and the MRT-7.